


enemies

by liionne



Series: horrifying house guests [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Avengers, M/M, Mild Smut, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:46:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2277231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky meets his arch nemesis: Steve's cat, Freedom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	enemies

"Are we allowed pets in the tower?"

Bucky is immediately suspicious. Well. He squints at Steve as though he is suspicious. In fact, his inner monologue has simply become: _we're getting a puppy we're getting a puppy we're getting a puppy we're getting a—-_

_"As long as it doesn't shed on my sofas, shit on my floor, or eat my furniture, I'm cool with it." Stark nods, and Bucky feels like he wants t_ o backflip. _We're_ _getting a puppy._

Steve gives a small, secretive smile, and he nods. "Great. Thanks, Tony."

Tony isn't listening, already back to reading up on Nuclear Resonance Imaging, wondering how he can make it better, leaving Steve to smile that tiny smile and Bucky to try not to grin.

~*~

Steve has been out all afternoon.

Bucky is a little disappointed, because he would have liked to go with Steve to pick out a puppy, but whatever. He'll be happy with any little guy, and of course, he trusts Steve's judgement.

He is positively bouncing off the walls when he hears the elevator doors open, and he stands up, ready to throw himself at Steve and their puppy, but then—-

"Bucky! Look who's back!"

Bucky stares at the cat carrier with narrowed eyes. "Who the hell is this?"

"My cat. Freedom, remember? She was living with Sam while you go settled. I figured she could move back in, now." Steve is beaming, but the look on Bucky's face soon causes that to falter. "I mean, you said you didn't have a problem with cats before, so I just—- I mean I assumed she could come back—- I didn't—- I should have asked, I- I'm sorry-"

Bucky feels as though he has just kicked a puppy. His own puppy. His own little golden retriever puppy named Steve Rogers, who is now looking at him with big blue eyes, looking more than a little lost.

Bucky deflates.

"No. No, it's okay. She can stay. Of course she can." Bucky gives a small smile as Steve beams at him again, and of course it makes his heart lurch. Any smile that Steve directs his way usually gets that reaction out of him. He's just not used to it yet, he's not used to how much he _loves_ him. Sometimes, like right now, it scares the shit out of Bucky, even if he gets over it fairly quickly.

Steve has taken the cat out of the carrier, and it has managed to worm its way under his shirt, head poking out of the top. Steve doesn't seem to mind, arms wrapped around it, holding it up. Bucky never thought he would have to compete for Steve's affections, but he certainly never thought that if he did, it would be against a _cat_.

Bucky huffs. It's going to be a long day.

~*~

It's been a long week, actually. The cat, Freedom, does _not_ get on with Bucky. Not at all.

A week after her arrival back home, Bucky burrows close to Steve under the covers, pressing against the length of him. He arranges them so that he can tuck his head under Steve's chin, listen to the thumping of his heart as he wakes up, slowly but surely. Their bare chests pressed together soothes Bucky, and when Steve wraps his arms around him, he settles.

Steve is so _warm_. The metal arm has no temperature regulator—- it heats up with its surroundings. Right now it's warm, set to Steve's body temperature, as it has rested against his chest for his entire night. Steve never seems to mind the arm, hasn't even before he and Bucky were like this, when Bucky was more _Soldier_ than _Bucky_ and sometimes Steve was his best friend and sometimes Steve was a stranger. Stark has done some work on the arm, now. It's no longer a weapon. It's just his _arm_. And he has a little bit of sensation in it, too, which means when he presses his palm over Steve's chest he can feel the thudding of his heart.

Bucky closes his eyes, and breathes in the smell of Steve. He hopes he gets to spend every morning like this. He wants to wake up every day in Steve's arms, warm and comfortable and—-

-—with a mouthful of fur.

He spits white hairs out as Freedom worms her way between them, and Bucky growls. The cat does nothing but purr as she puts a sizable wedge between them, lying in the gap she has created.

"Steve, the cat—-" Bucky begins, but all Steve does is mumble sleepily. He's not awake enough for this, or he'd do something about it. That's what Bucky thinks, anyway. He could be wrong.

"Freedom, no." He murmurs, but all the cat does is continue to purr, and so Bucky sighs, getting up and going to take a shower. He sort of hopes Steve will join him there, but he showers until the water runs cold, and there's still no sign of him. It's awful. Bucky hates it.

He's really starting to get tired of the cat.

~*~

" _Yes_ Steve there, right there, oh my—- _fuck_."

Bucky isn't really known for his eloquence, and the two of them aren't really known for conventional sex. Right now they're up against the wall, right by the window; the light is shining on Bucky's cheekbones as it peeks through the curtains, and Steve pounds him into the wall. It's a freaking _excellent_ way to end their midday session at the gym.

"Keep talking," Steve grunts, and Bucky smirks. He _knows_ Steve loves the babbling.

So he carries on, babbles as he rakes blunt nails down Steve's back, and honestly they're just getting started when he hears a very loud, and almost _obnoxious_ sounding-

_Meow!_

Steve's eyes fly open and he makes a somewhat strangled noise as he looks to the window. The cat sits on the sill, looking through the curtains at them. Her tail hangs down over the wall, and swishes as they watch.

"Just—- c'mon, Steve, don't stop—-" Bucky whines, squirming in an attempt to remind Steve of what they were doing. But Steve just splutters.

"Not in front of the cat!"

"She doesn't know what we're doing, Steve." Bucky growls, irritated. He's worked up and tense and if Steve doesn't start fucking him again there's going to be hell to pay. "Just—- come on—- don't—-"

"Not in front of the cat." Steve reitterates. He pulls away, and Bucky slumps back against the wall, growling still.

He waits until Steve is out of the room to look at the cat, and mutters, "I hate you."

The cat purrs at him. Bucky thinks she's a sarcastic little shit.

But he gets his revenge; he finds Steve in the living room, and tells him that Freedom is "sleeping" in the bedroom (he locked her in there, but Steve doesn't have to know that), and they finish on the living room floor what they had started in the bedroom.

Bucky, 1. Freedom, 1.

Bucky was going to have to up his game.

~*~

Steve lies on the sofa, the cat curled up asleep on his chest whilst he reads a book. Bucky goes to switch the record player on, a slow, old jazz song that both of them know pretty god damn well. He moves to stand in front of Steve, and holds both hands out to him.

"Dance with me."

Steve looks up at him, and then down at the cat. "But Freedom—-"

Bucky says nothing. He simply holds both his hands out in a silent offering, and he waits.

He grins when Steve gently lifts the cat up off his chest. She bares her claws, trying to snag his shirt, but he untangles her and sets her down on the sofa. She glares, at Bucky, not Steve, but she settles again.

Steve grins as he takes Bucky's hands, and Bucky gladly pulls him into him.

Steve still doesn't know how to dance, so they take it slow and gentle as they turn around the room. Bucky wraps his arms around Steve's waist, and Steve around Bucky's, and Steve rests his chin on his shoulder. Bucky presses a kiss to his temple as he leads the slowly around the room; they sway from side to side, holding on to one another.

"You're better than I remember." Bucky murmurs, and Steve shrugs his shoulders.

"Nat tried to teach me, but—-" He presses a little closer to Bucky. "I was never really that interested."

"Mm." Bucky hums. "So what changed your mind?"

"You." Steve answer. "Always you."

The dance until the song ends, and then a little while after. When they curl up on the sofa together after, and switch on some old Doris Day movie, they become a tangle of legs and arms and lips, brushing bare skin every so often. The cat tries to worm between them, but there's no room. In the end she hops down from the sofa, and stalks into the bedroom.

Bucky is a little preoccupied by Steve and his lips against Bucky's temple right then, but when he wakes in the morning, Steve's head resting on his chest, he remembers to take score:

Bucky, 2. Freedom, 1.

~*~

"No fucking way!"

"Bucky?"

Steve skitters into the bedroom, eyes wide, and Bucky holds up his favourite v-neck. It was a little torn and a little frayed, but that was the style of it. It was loose and dark grey and he _loved_ it.

And that cat has torn it to pieces.

"Your asshole demon cat shredded my shirt!" He cries, and Steve frowns.

"Maybe if you had of hung it up, she wouldn't have." He notes, as Bucky looks at the scraps of material in his hand.

He looks up at Steve so quickly that he gets whiplash. "No way. Don't take her side, Steve! She misbehaved! Punish her!"

Freedom sits at the head of the bed, licking her paw, which she then uses to clean the top of her head. Steve folds his arms across his chest.

"Stop acting like a victim, Bucky."

"So you're not going to punish her?" Bucky demands, and Steve shakes his head. Bucky glares. "Fine! I will then."

He goes and get a squirty bottle, and fills it with water from the tap. He returns, and before Steve can protest, he sprays the cat three times.

It freaks the fuck out.

It nearly turns itself inside out, jumping three feet in the air before crashing to the bed, sliding off the edge, clawing at the fabric and—-

"She's bleeding!"

Bucky's eyes grow wide with horror as Steve reaches for the cat. She hisses, but she lets him scoop her up, and Bucky smacks a hand over his mouth.

No, he doesn't like the cat. He detests the little thing, and assumes it to be a messenger from satan, here to act out his will on earth. But he didn't want to make it _bleed_.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry. Steve—- Steve I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, is she okay? Is she alright? Oh my god it's not bad is it? Is it broken? Do we—- should I start the car? We should see a vet, we should—-"

"Bucky." Steve looks up. He's pressed an edge of the bed sheet to her paw. "She just pulled a claw out. She's okay."

All the colour has drained fro Bucky's face, his storm blue eyes wide as he stare. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Steve nods. "It'll grow back. Really, she's fine. Probably a bit shocked, but fine."

Bucky deflates, and sits down on the edge of the bed. He runs a hand through his hair, and waits. Eventually, Steve releases the cat, and she slinks away to hide under the sofa, no doubt. That's where she usually goes when she wants to hide.

"So what's your problem with the cat, Bucky?" Steve asks.

Ah. Bucky had been wondering when they were going to have this chat. He honestly thought it would have come sooner, but here it is. And there's no point in lying, because it must be obvious to Steve now, if he's asking about it. Bucky sighs, and shrugs.

"You give her a lot of your attention, and—- well, I'm used to that being me, y'know?" Bucky shrugs. "She pushes me out a lot. And I know that's crazy, because she's a cat, but—-"

"I get it, Buck." Steve reaches out, and takes his head. Bucky doesn't hesitate to hold his hand tighter. "Really, I do. You think I'm picking the cat over you."

Bucky shrugs. "Kinda."

Steve frowns, and scoots closer to him, their shoulders and thighs brushing. "I'm sorry you feel that way. That I've _made_ you feel that way. It was never my intention." Steve bumps his shoulder. "I can give her back to Sam, if you want?"

"No! No." Bucky shakes his head. "She makes you happy. I don't want you to be unhappy."

"I'm happy with you." Steve murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss to Bucky's cheek.

"I know that." Bucky murmurs, and he blushes softly. He feels so stupid for getting so worked up over a cat, but Steve does genuinely seem to understand. He hasn't laughed at Bucky yet either, which is a good thing. "Just maybe—- maybe side with me more, okay?"

"Okay." Steve nods. "Okay, I can do that. Of course."

Bucky nods. He really does feel better now that all that's out in the open. He turns his head and leans into Steve, pressing a proper kiss to his lips, slow and gentle and careful.

"I love you, Bucky." Steve murmurs. "I love you most of all. Remember that, okay?"

"Okay." Bucky nods. "I love you too, Stevie."

Another kiss, just and soft and gentle as before, but it deepens quickly, takes on something faster, harder, more heated. When they get up to shut the bedroom door to keep the cat out, Bucky decides to just fuck Steve up against it. Less chance of her getting in and out that way, anyway.

So yeah, Bucky doesn't like the cat. But at least Steve knows that now, and at least he knows where he stands.

~*~

Another two weeks, and things are better. The cat still doesn't like Bucky, but he's learned to live with that rather than hate it right back.

Steve has been gone for far too long again, and Bucky is worried. He waits on the sofa, the cat curled up on the chair opposite his.

He gets a text from Steve, asking him to help him when he comes out of the elevator, because his hands are full, apparently. So Bucky stands, and leans against the back of the sofa, ready to help him when the door opens.

He sees the elevator door open, and he sees Steve grinning. He's not sure why, until he is bowled over by a big blur of blonde fur.

There is a golden retriever on his chest, licking his face. It's only a puppy, but it's god damn strong. Bucky pauses, before he beams.

"Is it mine? Is it—- Omigod Steve if this is my puppy I swear to god—-"

"He's yours." Steve nods, grinning down at them both. He has a grocery bag, but it seems to just be filled with dog stuff—- two bowls, food, flea treatment, worming tablets, a brush, a ball, a rope, the lot. "He doesn't have a name or anything, so you get to name him."

Bucky pauses; the puppy is still licking his face. The cat has stalked over, and is watching them warily, but she doesn't seem overly worried.

"Leto." Bucky answers eventually. The puppy stands on his chest, tail wagging furiously.

"Leto?" Steve asks.

"It's Russian for Summer." Bucky answers. "Sort of." He's not about to go into all of that now, of course. Russian Pronunciation and Language for his a day when there _isn't_ a puppy on his chest.

Steve has picked his cat up, swapping it for the grocery bag, and Bucky scoops the puppy up as he gets to his fet and stands close to Steve. Like this, the puppy and the cat are at eye level, and they sniff each other whilst Bucky grins at Steve.

"Thank you," He says earnestly, and Steve just shrugs.

"Figured you could use a pet of your own." He says. "And this guy needed a home."

Bucky grins, and he leans forward to press a kiss to Steve's lips, light and soft and happy. "I love you." He says, scratching behind his puppy's ear.

"I love you too, Buck." Steve murmurs, managing to get one more kiss in before the puppy begins to lick Bucky's jaw and the cat starts to purr, the attentions now thoroughly divided.

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for any mistakes. This was, as per, un beta'd.
> 
> Also, this comes from a lot of places. Steve's cat hating Bucky and being called Freedom is my own personal headcanon, but Steve's cat actually comes from [here](http://colnchen.tumblr.com/post/90644420693/ptsd-the-soldiers-diaries-steve-rogers-and-his) and a lot of the prompts for Bucky and Steve in this come from [here](http://imagineyourotp.tumblr.com/tagged/Domestic).
> 
> I know this isn't the sequel people were expecting, but this came so easily to me that I couldn't not do it. I don't know how much more I'll be doing with the series, but if there's anything in particular you want to see, let me know!


End file.
